Nokia’s HERE Maps are now improving support and functionality for the Android platform. Released as a Public Beta, HERE Maps for Android features a new interface, along with new functionality features. HERE Maps has recently been rumoured to be up for sale, and Nokia has been reported to have spoken to German carmakers Audi, BMW and Daimler for the trade.
HERE Maps by Nokia has become popular owing to its offline navigation capabilities, an aspect that Google Maps is not really strong at. With the new context menu in the Beta version, long-pressing on an area will provide contextual circles that gives options to preview the area, share the location or get driving directions. You can also start navigation towards the place, without having to leave the map interface. Additionally, HERE Maps has well-mapped interior road directions along with blocked roadways and no-turn indications within the map.
Talking about providing added functionalities and providing more accurate locations and directions, Sarah Durante, Communications Manager of HERE, posted on its website, “We’re on a mission to make HERE the best map and location app across devices around the world and we need your help. We’ve accelerated our release cycle so we are constantly working on bug fixes, adding new features and shipping updated versions of the app. And we’re launching this public beta program to help us get performance data and feedback from users across a range of Android devices to help us identify issues and iterate new versions even faster.”
The post also includes specifications recommended for using the HERE Maps, and states the way through which you can sign up for the free Beta program.